Tell me a story
by TheDrunkenWerewolf
Summary: Gin is grieving for the loss of his much loved pet fox Cherry-chan. And Aizen tells him a story to try and help him feel better - the story of the rainbow bridge. Tissues may be needed.
1. Part I

Right, the important stuff –

I do not own bleach and anyone saying otherwise is a liar that has it in for me.

I also do not own the rainbow bridge story itself.

The only things I own and can claim copyright to are Ichimaru Cherry and Tsuku Aizen. They are mine. Theft of either of them will not be tolerated.

Note – theft is taking without permission. If you wish to borrow them, all you need to do is ask. I don't bite unless provoked or attacked X3

Also before I begin - this is not a yaoi fic so_ please _do not ask me if it is, they are like brothers in this fic. No matter how much anything more than that may be implied - any implications are unintentional. If you want yaoi I have done many others and I do take requests for it but just not in my Gin&Cherry universe. Thankyou in advance for your understanding.

Okay~ Now that all of the formalities are out of the way – just read, relax, enjoy, and you can review if you like. All of my reviews are much loved so long as they're constructive.

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**Tell me a story**

Huecco Mundo. A cold, dark and desolate place, a place where the moon perpetually hangs there in the sky, and the corpses of hollows both living and dead litter the desert like landscape. The only form of any civilisation being one large and perpendicularly shaped building known as Las Noches.

It is in this building in which our story starts. The sun, artificially created by the ruler of this plain, and all who resided within Las Noches, had long ago broken through the horizon and lit up the dark sky, bringing with it the daylight. Artificial daylight, but daylight nonetheless, and it is this day which said ruler finds to be the most solemn. For it is quiet, far too quiet to be normal, as he walks down the halls and he knows why this is. His footsteps echo quietly down the white corridors, each footstep falling and breaking the silence as he walked towards his destination. There is not a smile on the lord's face, nor a look of contempt in his eyes, or a look of coldness upon his well structured face. No, he just walks.

It is almost noon now, and he is walking towards the room of his second. Stopping in front of the door when he sees one of his subordinates, named Ulquiorra. He was the slender, pale skinned male of his followers which became known as the espada. He had raven coloured hair and bright green eyes, eyes that seemed too bright for his monotone colouration and personality, ignoring the fact that everyone wore white here.

"Aizen-sama," the espada stated, acknowledging his master's sudden appearance.

"He is still in there. He has not eaten…"

The lord glanced away momentarily, sighing regretfully to himself at the situation. "I see. Very well Ulquiorra you may go."

The espada nodded and then turned to walk away down the hallway, leaving the master to knock on the door of his second, only to receive no answer from the other side of the door.

"May I come in?" he asked, quietly pulling down the doorhandle and slowly creaking open the door. The lights were turned off, and the room was dark, the only light in the room coming from the hallway as he opened the door. The room falling into darkness again as the door closed again after the master had entered.

"Gin?"

The sleeping form on the bed did not move. The body of Ichimaru Gin just remained quiet and unresponsive to him, lying curled up on the bed, facing away from the door.

"G- go away…" he said, half choking on sobs. "I dun want yer pi- pity…"

The lord sighed deeply, mentally preparing himself for how this would go.

"Now Gin, I have never once in my life pitied you. And I can assure you that I never will. I am here simply out of concern for you."

"Aizen-chan…" Gin whimpered, listening to the footsteps of the other echoing loudly into the silence of his room, his sanctuary. His room was his little sanctuary away from the world, his secluded little space that nobody else ever entered – well, apart from one other. But apart from that one, not even Aizen had ever entered Gin's room until today. Any other day Gin would feel like it was a violation of his privacy, but not today. Today he just didn't care. He didn't care that Aizen was in his room, he didn't even care that he was sitting beside him on the bed, he didn't even care that Aizen hadn't even been asked to come in.

All he cared about was that he was here.

"It hurts…" he whispered, with only Aizen there to hear him. "It just hurts so much…"

"I know." Aizen said, placing a comforting hand onto Gin's head. "I know it hurts."

Aizen stroked Gin's white, tufty hair, trying to soothe the younger one as he just cried more tears.

"Shhh its okay…"

Gin wailed quietly, as Aizen's hands slowly pulled him into an embrace, Gin crying into his chest, his heart really hurting for Gin now, for he knew what he was going through, having experienced it first hand himself.

"I understand."

"Do… does it ever get easier?"

"No."

Aizen wasn't going to lie to the boy, he always thought the truth about what Gin was currently feeling shouldn't be built around lies. But Gin's heart wrenched in his chest, making him whimper painfully again. Feeling the dreadful pang of loss shudder through him again as he choked on another sob.

"Oh god, do- do ya mean I'm gonna feel this way fer- fer forever?"

"Come now… you know that is not so."

"Bu' I jus' miss 'er… so much. She- she were my baby, an' an' I raised her… ever since she were a puppy, an' an'…"

He sniffed again, suddenly feeling quite stupid. This was ridiculous, he was crying over a fox. And he knew that this wouldn't be helping Aizen at all by making him remember his pet…

"I'm sorry, this prob'ly aint helpin' ya forget Tsuku…"

"Gin I could never forget him, just as you will never forget Cherry. They were ours and we loved them, but their time came and they had to leave us, you know that. I taught you of life and death myself, do you remember?"

"Yeah, I remember. It jus' feels so stupid."

"Now Gin," Aizen said sternly, but still in a quiet voice, not sounding at all too harsh. "Grief over an animal is not stupid. Anyone who has been through the same thing will understand. Grief is natural when we lose someone we love."

Gin just lay there in Aizen's arms, with tears staining his pale face. His body limp and his once bright eyes now heavily lidded. A shadow of his former self; he was just heartbroken.

"The greater your love for someone, the more hurt you feel when you lose them… you loved her with every fiber of your being. So of course it is going to hurt. And I know that you will not smile again for a long time."

Gin seemed to calm down a little, and his voice was slightly less shaky, even though the water still flooded from Gin's eyes, and his heart ached.

"It feels like my heart's jus' been ripped outta me." Gin sobbed, "li- like I'll never be happy again. Tis like an empty space there Taichou… like an empty space that aint never gonna be filled again."

Aizen took a deep breath and just held Gin tighter, he had felt this all before, and yes, he did cry like he is right now. For you just don't lose a pet and get over it the next day, it is, as any loss is, traumatic. It destroys you. And it takes so long to rebuild yourself afterwards.

"Gin…"

Gin looked up, still not making any sound other than the odd quiet whimper, looking intently into Aizen's chocolate coloured eyes, and at the deep brown hair that fell in between the man's eyebrows. Gin's own green eyes searching for solace in those chocolate ones, hoping to find some small sliver of comfort in a world of harshness. Finding warmth and comfort there in the man that had been the older brother he never had. Finding it in him to hug him back, squeezing tightly, with his head leaning against his chest.

"Tell me a story Aizen… tell me a story with a happy ending. Tell me a happy endin' exists."

Aizen smiled softly at him, for he knew of the most appropriate story to tell.

"Alright." He soothed, watching Gin curl up comfortably on to bed again, with his head resting on Aizen's knees, so that he could still stroke his hair in the relaxing way that he liked.

"I'll tell you a story. I'll tell you the story… of the rainbow bridge."

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God I said to myself I wouldn't make this into a two part fic. I Told myself I wouldn't…. but I have. Dammit. Anyway, because it is like, nearly 2am now, I need some sleep. More fluff will come tomorrow. Reviews, as always are much loved. And I hope to get the second part up soon, thats if I can manage to get up early... which may or may not happen. But wither way I've wanted to write this fic out for months so I will now that I have the time to. So the next part should be up and running soon.

Reviews are much loved, but please keep em constructive,

- wolfy-chan


	2. Part II

[please see my A/N's in the previous chapter for my rant on the unintentionally implied yaoi]

I don't think people are taking too well to the Cherry and Tsuku deaths in this fic - Tsuku having died before Cherry - but I've wanted to write this idea out for many months now. And I will not appreciate people having a go because I've killed them off in this fic. Constructive criticism is fine, in fact I welcome it. But I do not want to just be yelled at and get a string of nasty messages for doing as I wish with my own characters. Because I believe I am firmly within my rights to do so.

That said, here is part two, I hope you enjoy reading. And any reviews you wish to give will be much loved. And you may need tissues, because people have cried on me before.

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**Tell me a story (part 2)**

Gin sniffed, calming down a little bit more as he listened, his interest having been piqued.

"The rainbow bridge?"

"Yes." Aizen said, his fingers still softly stroking Gin's white hair. "The rainbow bridge..."

"What's that about?"

Aizen smiled lightly, happy that he was the one to be telling Gin this particular story. For it had been told to him once before by the buxom orange haired Orihime, and it had helped him before, so he wanted to pass it on. Even though it did originate from the human world and wasn't an entirely original story. He much preferred creating his own tales, but in this case he would make an exception.

"Well, it is said that there is a place just this side of heaven called the rainbow bridge."

He started, pausing for effect before continuing with his next sentence. Gin listening intently to the story Aizen was telling. Gin did like stories, he always did. So he listened quietly, not making a single noise. Just as he always had done when he was younger and Aizen told him stories before bedtime.

"Well, when an animal dies that has been especially close to a person; they go to the place called the rainbow bridge."

Gin sighed quietly, listening to the soft sound of Aizen's voice. His chest steadily rising and falling as he lay there curled up comfortably on him as Aizen carried on telling his story.

"It is a peaceful place, there are valleys and hills of lush green grass, and the sun shines brightly in the sky. And they all run and play there together, having plenty of food, water, and sunshine from a non artificial sun, and all of our dearly departed friends are comfortable and happy there." he added, a small smile surfacing itself, for he had slotted in the 'non artificial sun' part for good humour.

"Hm, sounds pretty corny if ya ask me…" Gin snorted, finding that this really wasn't helping him much. But still, Aizen continued with the story regardless of how ridiculous it sounded. And Gin did ask for a story after all, so he thought that he better be respectful and listen to it.

Aizen ignored Gin's remark and continued in the same gentle tone as before, having eventually gotten to the main point of the story. He just continued to smile at Gin softly, paternally even, having practically raised Gin himself. Wanting to do nothing but comfort the young boy. And that was what he was. For in some, albeit many ways, Gin was still a child, still with much left to learn about the ways of the world; of life and of death. And so he let Aizen continue.

"All of our dear pets that were ill and old are restored to full health and vigour, and those who were maimed and hurt are made whole and new again, and they are just as we remember them in our dreams and in our memories of times gone by. And they are all happy and content to play with each other there. There is no war, there is no bloodshed or fighting, it is a place of peace and tranquillity there. And they are all happy. Except, there is one thing missing from their life there."

Gin looked up at him again, wondering where this story was going. And he was worried now that Aizen was just playing some mean trick on him, and that this would be another sad story. Because he didn't think he could ever forgive Aizen for that if it was.

"And what are they missing?" Gin asked, his voice echoing into the quiet of his room, tilting his head slightly to look up at Aizen again with quite confused eyes. He thought this was supposed to be a happy story, so how could something be missing?

"Ya jus' said they were happy there. How can somethin' be missing?"

Aizen's warm fingertips stroked Gin's head again as he gently looked into the boys eyes, for he was just getting to that part of the story. He smiled warmly at Gin as he carried on; thinking to himself that the fact Gin was still innocent in so many ways was indeed a miracle, especially considering his past.

"Well, you see, they are missing that one person that they were the closest to. The one that they had to leave behind when they died."

Gin was on the verge of crying again now, trying to choke back another sob as more tears cascaded their way down his cheekbones. Letting out a quiet whimper as Aizen's hand stroked his back soothingly, exhaling quietly, he knew how much this was hurting him.

"I know…"

He watched Gin cry for a moment, taking in the sorrow emanating from him. Remembering being just like this himself after Tsuku died as he waited for Gin to calm down again. Still soothing him softly and stroking his hair as Gin clung onto him.

"They all run and play there together, until the day arrives when one of them suddenly stops and looks out into the distance… a fox." He said shooting gin a sly glance, fully emphasising the fact that he was referring to his Cherry-chan, smiling knowingly.

"A young white fox, with a bushy tail and bright blue eyes…" he continued, pausing again in just the right places to let it sink in. "She suddenly stops, seeing something. Her eyes are intent and her body eagerly quivers, suddenly breaking away from her group and running over the grass as fast as her legs will carry her."

Gin kept really quiet and still, only managing to whisper quietly the name of his pet.

"Cherry-chan?"

"Mmm hmm." Aizen nodded ignoring Gin's interruptions as he carried on with the storytelling.

"Flying faster and faster over the hills, leaping and bounding over the fields and meadows, for she has seen her master, and has been waiting for him."

He was making it obvious, even though he was talking in the third person, but the point was getting across. Even though he was not speaking directly he was telling Gin all he needed to hear.

"He has missed her, and as finally crossed over to be with her. She once more leaps into his arms for the first time in many years, and his hands caress her soft and beautiful white fur as tears of joy flood from him. The little white fox raining happy kisses upon his face as they are reunited, never again to be parted."

Gin sniffed again, "So… so I'm gonna see my Cherry-chan again?"

"Indeed, when you leave this life and cross over to the bridge, you will be with your Cherry again. And I will be with Tsuku. When we pass on we will once more be able to look into the eyes of our trusted pets again. And then we will cross the bridge together… with them by our side."

Gin could hear Aizen's voice start to tremble as he spoke that last line, seeing that he was on the verge of breaking down also. But that part of the story did trigger a weary smile to spread across Gin's face, even though there were still tears falling down his pale cheeks, knowing that he would meet his lovely Cherry-chan again someday.

"That was a nice story."

"Did you like it?"

Gin cuddled up to Aizen, bringing himself to return the embrace he gave.

"Yeah… Thankyou..."

Aizen smiled, his heart weary with everything, letting his hand find Gin's and holding it firmly.

"They are gone, but not from out hearts Gin."

"I know…" Gin said, his voice quieter now. For he was still hurting. "bu' will ya stay with me? Jus'… jus' fer now?"

"Of course. Now be quiet and get some rest, I won't be going anywhere."

And with that Gin curled up on the bed with Aizen behind him, trapped in his warm and brotherly embrace until sleep came and claimed them. They both dreamt of the bridge that night.


End file.
